Most people who want to start their own business don’t have a ton of money laying around and it’s probably one the most common questions I get emailed about: How can I get started without a lot of cash?

Well I’ve put together a list below of the best ideas I’ve heard and personally used. I hope you find it useful!

The three basic strategies to starting a business without much money are:

Delay the normal “business starting” activities like incorporating, hiring, renting office or retail space, etc until AFTER your business has started earning money. This is known as bootstrapping. Doing everything yourself and spending your personal time instead of hiring an expert. (Takes longer but costs less.) Using some neat tricks and little known deals below.

A good friend of mine has long argued that startups can succeed through vision and hard work. Because I only partially agree with his position, we have had more than one heated argument on the subject. It is my belief that hard work and a great idea are required ingredients for success, but that those two elements alone are not enough for a startup to become a success.

Imagine a great Amazonian rainforest. As your mind floats along the banks of a surging river in this rainforest, pause for a moment and take in the strength and beauty of the mightiest of the trees that you can see in front of you. Reaching above all of the other plants and collecting a shower of precious sunlight, this tree is over 100 feet tall, with sinewy roots reaching deep into the rich forest soil. Beautiful isn’t it?

Did this tree get to be the the giant that it is because of hard work? Not hardly.

Hire for passion and commitment first, experience second, and credentials third. You don’t want to be simply a stepping stone on an employee’s journey toward their own passion.

Several years ago I was in the Thomson Building in Toronto. I went down the hall to the small kitchen to get myself a cup of coffee. Ken Thomson was there, making himself some instant soup. At the time, he was the ninth-richest man in the world, worth approximately $19.6 billion. Enough, certainly, to afford a nice lunch. I looked at the soup he was stirring. “It suits me just fine,” he said, smiling.

Thomson understood value. Neighbors reported seeing him leave his local grocery store with jumbo packages of tissues that were on sale. He bought off-the-rack suits and had his old shoes resoled. Yet he had no difficulty paying almost $76 million for a painting (for Peter Paul Rubens’s Massacre of the Innocents, in 2002). He sought value, whether it was in business, art, or groceries.

If you want to be a great connector, you should read this post. The invested time will be pay back, for sure. [note mg]

To succeed, who you know is just as important as what you know. In fact, relationships should be your top priority. The book Never Eat Alone talks about how to apply the timeless principles of relationships in the 21st century. It contains a lot of practical tips on how you could thrive in today’s world through your relationships. It’s one of the best books I read recently.

To give you the only gems, I’ve summarized what I learn from the book into 106 tips. Put these tips into practice and you will be a master connector who live a successful and fulfilling life:

1. Make other people more successful

Real networking is about finding ways to make other people more successful. It is sharing your knowledge and resources, time and energy, friends and associates, and empathy and compassion in a continual effort to provide value to others, while coincidentally increasing your own...

I was recently reading Steve Pavlina’s: 10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job and noticed that this guy knows what the hell he’s talking about. For this, I feel that it’s very important that I share his article with you just in case you might think like I used to. I too believed that security came with working that “9-5″ and hustling my ass off hoping for a minuscule raise. Sounds familiar right?

When I decided to start Circle One Communications, LLC in January 2008 I knew I was taking on a major risk. I also knew that most people wouldn’t understand. Steve along with other successful online marketers seemed to be the only people who understood my downright disdain for being a sheep in a work force that taxed the employee for the benefit of corporate profits. I can relate to the employee mentality for maintaining stability but at the same time…

In Using Utilities and Services. It is more practical for an entrepreneur to use either bundle services or unlimited services. Internet service connection for instance has a promotional DSL bundles that already includes the telephone line. This service is also considered on unlimited use already. With these kinds of services, you will not have to think of your bills when connecting to a client, thus, you have a quality time and better service.

In Using and Purchasing Office Supplies. For office supplies, you can save more if you buy in bulk. You may look for generic brands that are cheaper; however, you should also not compromise on the quality when it is a protocol in your business. For example, if your business needs to be precise about the quality of colors for toners, you should opt for branded ones. Also look for ads of sale and grab the opportunity so you can save. Office supply depots can be a great place to buy cheaper supplies.

Want the skinny on using Pinterest to promote your b2b marketing? Follow these five tips and kick-start your brand’s expansion into this emerging social media phenomenon.

1. Advertising and infographics rule the b2b marketing pins

Today, B2B marketers can get tons of great examples of award winning infographics and advertising campaigns on Pinterest. For that alone it’s an amazing resource. However, for other types of marketing, well, my fellow marketers, we have some work to do. Imagine a Pinterest page filled with pins of amazing fashion, inspirational interior design, stunning landscapes, and a screenshot of your low production value product demo video…um, it’s nice you have a presence, but how does that pin of a crappy screenshot of a crappy video look next to the rest of these other magnificent pins?

Choosing the right name for your business can have a lasting impact when it comes to propelling a business to success. Here are tips in choosing the right one.

Entrepreneurs fret over packaging and a host of other details as they get started, and then leave one of the most important aspects as an afterthought.

The sad truth is that the right name can sometimes make all the difference when it comes to propelling a business to success, rather than just slogging on.

Consider this: Would you like "Patagonian toothfish" on your plate tonight for dinner? Hmm… not so much? Ok what about "Chilean Sea Bass?" That's much better, right? Or another example is how Marion Morrison put on a cowboy hat, slung on a six-shooter and became "John Wayne."

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.